at Otago - School of Business, University of Otago, New Zealand ...
at Otago - School of Business, University of Otago, New Zealand ...
at Otago - School of Business, University of Otago, New Zealand ...
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GRADUATE PROFILE<br />
Thomas Sheng<br />
Rel<strong>at</strong>ionship Associ<strong>at</strong>e - ANZ<br />
BCom<br />
ANZ Rel<strong>at</strong>ionship Associ<strong>at</strong>e<br />
Thomas Sheng <strong>at</strong>tributes his<br />
success in the work place to<br />
studying Finance <strong>at</strong> <strong>Otago</strong>.<br />
Originally from China, Thomas<br />
chose to come to Dunedin after<br />
being won over by the <strong>University</strong>’s<br />
reput<strong>at</strong>ion.<br />
He credits his BCom with providing<br />
a strong research background<br />
which enabled independent<br />
learning; <strong>at</strong>tributes which have<br />
proved invaluable in real-world<br />
business situ<strong>at</strong>ions.<br />
After gradu<strong>at</strong>ing, Thomas joined<br />
ANZ’s Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Trade<br />
Finance team as a support <strong>of</strong>ficer.<br />
He believes his educ<strong>at</strong>ion and<br />
subsequent experience laid the<br />
found<strong>at</strong>ions for progression,<br />
which has seen him become a<br />
Rel<strong>at</strong>ionship Associ<strong>at</strong>e assisting<br />
Rel<strong>at</strong>ionship Managers to assess<br />
commercial customers’ overall<br />
banking needs. A typical day<br />
involves meeting with customers,<br />
structuring deals and writing credit<br />
proposals.<br />
Thomas says his expect<strong>at</strong>ions <strong>of</strong><br />
study <strong>at</strong> <strong>Otago</strong> were exceeded.<br />
“I was hoping the lecturers would<br />
interact with us and provide<br />
guidance on our assignments, but<br />
it was equally important th<strong>at</strong> they<br />
also give us enough room and<br />
opportunities to let us do our<br />
own research and study beyond<br />
the text book. These expect<strong>at</strong>ions<br />
were met, especially in my last<br />
year, where assignments involved<br />
an extensive amount <strong>of</strong> research,<br />
which I really enjoyed.”<br />
Thomas also had the opportunity<br />
to take part in a student exchange<br />
programme while studying <strong>at</strong><br />
<strong>Otago</strong>.<br />
“I went on an exchange to the<br />
N<strong>at</strong>ional <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Singapore<br />
for one semester.While I was there<br />
I experienced different cultures,<br />
travelled in the region, met students<br />
from other parts <strong>of</strong> world, made<br />
life-time friends, and I didn’t have<br />
to delay gradu<strong>at</strong>ion. This was an<br />
eye-opening and truly unique<br />
experience.”<br />
He believes studying Finance gives<br />
gre<strong>at</strong>er choice in terms <strong>of</strong> career<br />
options.<br />
“If you want to work in a financial<br />
institution or the treasury<br />
department <strong>of</strong> a large corpor<strong>at</strong>ion<br />
in the future, studying Finance <strong>at</strong><br />
<strong>Otago</strong> is definitely the right choice.<br />
For me, Finance <strong>of</strong>fered interesting<br />
courses and has led to exciting job<br />
opportunities.”<br />
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